Stateless vs Stateful Servers

A stateful server remembers client data (state) from
one request to the next.

A stateless server keeps no state information

Using a stateless file server, the client must
specify complete file names in each request
specify location for reading or writing
re-authenticate for each request

Using a stateful file server, the client can
send less data with each request

A stateful server is simpler

On the other hand a stateless server is more robust
lost connections can't leave a file in an invalid state
rebooting the server does not lose state information
rebooting the client does not confuse a stateless server